


Bucky Barnes and the Doomsday Hoard

by br0wncoat



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky is a hoarder, Inspired by terrible reality television, It's not actually Doomsday, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Slash, Protective Bucky, and Steve is oblivious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-03-13 23:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3400286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/br0wncoat/pseuds/br0wncoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Steve runs across one of Bucky's stashes, he doesn't really think anything of it. Bucky's only been living in the tower for a couple weeks, after months of interrogation and therapy, and he's still a bit twitchy and not inclined to talk to anyone who isn't Steve. It makes sense that he'd be a little paranoid about his safety, so the cache of small arms in what should have been a silverware drawer only gives Steve a moment's pause.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It starts with weapons.

The first time Steve runs across one of Bucky's stashes, he doesn't really think anything of it. Bucky's only been living in the tower for a couple weeks, after months of interrogation and therapy, and he's still a bit twitchy and not inclined to talk to anyone who isn't Steve. It makes sense that he'd be a little paranoid about his safety, so the cache of small arms in what should have been a silverware drawer only gives him a moment's pause.

*****

The next time Bucky invites him into his suite, it's a few days later and the first time since Steve discovered the weapons that Bucky has spoken to anyone. JARVIS had assured him that Bucky was merely busy, although the AI declined to elaborate, and Steve had let it go. He understands needing some time alone.

When he walks in carrying five greasy bags of takeout (Bucky's developed an inexplicable love for onion rings, and Steve isn't about to deny him his choices), Bucky shouts to him from the shower to make himself at home. Steve carries the bags to the kitchen and starts poking around for plates. Because it was designed by Tony Stark, the kitchen is larger than the entire apartment he and Bucky used to share, all dark wood and stainless steel that makes him a little afraid to touch anything, for fear of breaking an $800 toaster.

He opens a cabinet above the sink, then stands blinking in confusion at the absolute hoard of knives. (Some part of his brain wonders pointlessly why the knives aren't in the silverware drawer, which would at least make a little more sense.) Switchblades and throwing knives, fixed blade and folders, curved blades and straight. There's even a goddamn machete. Steve closes the door and backs away, deciding they can just eat off napkins.

*****

The week following the knife incident, Steve knocks on Bucky's door with an armload of DVDs and snack food. Bucky's still keeping to himself more often than not, and Steve has decided to get to the bottom of it. Even if Bucky's not sure that the other Avengers want him around, there's no reason for him to avoid Steve.

It takes a few minutes for Bucky to crack open the door, and when he does it's only his eyes that are visible, shot through with red and a little shifty.

“Buck?” Steve says worriedly. “Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept in a week.” Steve mentally kicks himself. What if Bucky's been hiding up here having nightmares or flashbacks, and Steve's left him all alone? He _knew_ he should've demanded that Bucky see him.

“What?” Bucky says hoarsely. “Uh, no, I'm fine. I just … “ He sighs, pulling the door open wider. “Come on in.”

Bucky steps aside, and Steve takes two steps into the room and trips over something. Bucky manages to catch him before he faceplants, but popcorn and DVDs go flying. Steve looks around, his eyebrows climbing as he sees that he'd fallen over a pallet of bottled water. There must be a thousand bottles there, and he has to wonder how Bucky got them all in the tower without anyone noticing.

Up until this point, Steve's been convinced that Bucky was trying to make himself feel safe by always having a weapon near at hand. Now he's starting to wonder if he's missing something. “Bucky,” he says slowly, “you know that Tony provides all of our food and water, right? You don't have to buy your own. And you can trust him. We all eat from the same supply. Are you worried that you'll be poisoned? Drugged?” Because of course those Hydra bastards had barely fed him, and when they did his food was probably laced with drugs to keep him compliant. He should've thought of this before.

“No, I know,” Bucky says, refusing to look Steve in the eyes. He turns and starts picking up the scattered movies. “Star Wars, huh? I've heard you mention this before. Let's give it a shot.” He practically flees, making a production of turning on the DVD player even though they both know Bucky's always been better with technology.

Steve sighs.

 

*****

“Bucky, I know you're in there! JARVIS told me you've been in there all morning, and I know you've heard me knocking for the past 10 minutes!”

Bucky had loved Star Wars, and they'd ended up watching the trilogy well into the night. Steve had fully intended to question Bucky more about the water, but by the time he wakes up on the couch, stiff-necked and with the DVD menu still showing on the screen, Bucky's disappeared.

Steve goes for a run, has breakfast, showers, and then plants himself outside Bucky's door, determined to get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, Bucky seems intent on ignoring him.

“Bucky!” Steve yells. “I'll stand here all day if I have to!”

The door flies open so suddenly that Steve almost topples in. “What?” Bucky snarls.

Steve takes a step back, his hands help up in surrender. If he wasn't (90%) sure he could take him in a fight, he'd be a little afraid of Bucky right now. As it is, he wonders if he's pushed too hard. Bucky's entire recovery had seemed like one step forward, two steps back, and Steve was never sure if he was doing more harm than good.

Bucky seems to deflate, his shoulders sagging and mouth turning down in a frown. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “I just didn't want you to see.”

“See what, Buck?” Steve reaches hesitantly for his friend, a little surprised when Bucky actually lets him wrap an arm around his shoulders. He steers them through the doorway, saying, “You know you can tell me anything. I won't - “ His mouth snaps shut in surprise.

The coat closet in Bucky's entryway is standing open, and he'd clearly been in the middle of trying force it closed when Steve started banging on his door. It's overflowing with so much junk that it takes Steve's brain a moment to process it all. Canned food, MREs, batteries, bulletproof vests, first-aid kits. “Bucky, what … ?”

“There was this show” - he points at the flat-screen accusingly - “about these people preparing for the end of the world. And Steve, I thought I'd seen some shit, but how come I never knew about this? Earthquakes, meteors, the goddamn flu – isn't there a vaccine for the flu?! And I just … “ He gestures helplessly at the overflowing closet.

“You just wanted to protect yourself,” Steve says, nodding. “It makes sense, that after everything you've been through - “

“No, you dummy,” Bucky interrupts, exasperated. “I wanted to protect you. You might be all” - he waves a hand, encompassing Steve's body - “but you're not immortal.” He turns and starts angrily shoving things back into the closet. “You never watch your own back. Someone has to do it for you.”

A flashlight tumbles off the top of the pile, nearly clocking Bucky on the head, and Steve pulls him out of the way, shoving him onto the couch. Bucky glares.

Steve crouches down in front of Bucky, making the other man meet his eyes. He can't deny that he's a little touched, but this is just ridiculous. “This is probably the safest building in the entire world,” he points out. “It has its own energy supply, and it's full of superheroes. And believe it or not, I _can_ take care of myself.”

“Oh, obviously,” Bucky snaps (and man, Steve had forgotten what a sarcastic shit he could be sometimes). “You think I haven't heard about you flying a plane into the ocean? And not that long ago, you almost let _me_ kill you!”

“Is that what this is about?” Steve asks gently. “I know that you couldn't help it. No one blames you, least of all me. I'd … I'd rather have died than hurt you, Bucky.”

Bucky laughs a little hysterically. “This is what I'm talking about. You have no sense of self-preservation. You'd rather keep someone who tried to kill you safe than protect yourself!”

Steve reaches out and grips both of Bucky's hands tightly. “You've always protected me, Bucky. I'm just trying to return the favor. But I'll tell you what … how about from now on, we keep each other safe?”

Bucky peers at him through wet lashes, but there's the beginning of a smirk on his face. “All right. I'm pretty sure those MREs are older than we are, anyway.”

Steve laughs, pulling Bucky up and into a hug. Bucky squeezes him tightly for a moment, then leans back to say, “But I'll kick your ass if you try to take my knives.”


	2. Chapter 2

Bucky jolts awake, his body jacknifing in bed. His legs are tangled in the sheet, and he panics briefly, kicking until he hears something tear. It's still dark outside, and he has no idea what woke him. He scrambles for his phone. No missed calls, and the display reads 2:57 a.m. He flops on his back, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He'd thought he was getting better, only having nightmares a couple times a week instead of every night.

There's a low rumble from outside, building in intensity until Bucky can feel the tower shake with it. Not a nightmare, then. He jumps out of bed, reaching for the pants he'd left crumpled on the floor. It had taken weeks for Steve to convince him not to sleep fully dressed, that it's safe here. Clearly he shouldn't have listened to the idiot.

The rumble comes again, closer this time. Bombs? Maybe an air raid. He jams his feet into his boots, wondering why no one's sounded the alarm. Are they all incapacitated somehow? Shouldn't JARVIS have - Oh. 

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Mr. Barnes?" The voice is cool and even, and Bucky relaxes a little. He's pretty sure JARVIS would sound more concerned if they were under attack. "How can I be of assistance?"

Bucky frowns up at the ceiling, even though he knows there's no camera in his bedroom. "Is there something happening? Outside?"

"Just a storm, sir," JARVIS responds. "The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning, effective until 3:30 a.m."

"Thunder," Bucky mutters. Christ. He'd been ready to suit up over a storm. "Wait, what's a severe warning?" 

"The National Weather Service defines a severe thunderstorm as having large hail, at least 3/4 inches in diameter, and/or damaging winds of at least 58 mph, or 50 knots," JARVIS recites. "A warning is issued when a severe thunderstorm is occurring or expected to occur within a matter of minutes. There is also a possibility of flash flooding and widespread power outages."

"Power out - " Bucky finishes lacing his boots and runs to the closet for a jacket, in case they have to evacuate. After a moment's thought, he digs in the back for the coat he'd stolen when he was still on the run, nice and warm but a couple sizes too big. Best not to assume that Steve will be smart enough to grab his own. 

He bypasses the elevator (no elevators in storms; he thinks he heard that somewhere. Or is that just for fires? Either way, the power could go out, and he'd get stuck, and ... no) and jogs up the stairs to Steve's floor.

He bursts through the door (Steve never locks it, the big dummy) and stumbles toward the bedroom in the dark. "Steve! Wake up, Steve!"

Steve's awake instantly, on his feet and searching for trouble. "Bucky? What's wrong?" He's wearing nothing but a pair of indecently snug briefs, and Bucky's mouth goes a little dry. Steve reaches for him, eyes scanning Bucky in concern. "Are you hurt?"

Bucky throws the jacket at him. "Get dressed."

"What? Why?" Steve stares at him, jacket dangling from one hand.

Bucky huffs in irritation. Outside, there's a rolling boom of thunder, like a chain of explosions. "Storm. JARVIS says there could be floods." He spots a t-shirt and jeans folded neatly on the dresser and shoves them at Steve. "Power outages. Hail."

"Bucky ... " Steve's still just _standing_ there. "It's not going to flood. It's not even raining right now. And this tower is built to withstand the Hulk; I don't think we need to worry about hail." 

"Get dressed," Bucky growls. He's still missing half of his damn memories, but it seems like everything he does remember involves Steve being a dumbass in some way. "This wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't made me get rid of all my supplies."

Stevs sighs but finally starts pulling on clothes. "We also have our own power source. Remember, Tony told you about the arc reactor?"

Bucky grits his teeth. "I don't care how fancy this place is. You remember that storm in '38? It made the Empire State Building move!"

Steve freezes halfway through tugging on a shirt. "You remember that?"

"Yeah," Bucky says impatiently. "The subway flooded and old man Wexler died when a tree fell on his newspaper stand."

"How is _that_ one of the things that you - " Steve shakes his head. "Never mind. That was a hurricane, Bucky. This is just a regular storm."

Bucky just stares at him obstinately.

"Okay, fine." Steve throws up his hands. "Will it make you feel better if we go talk to Tony? Maybe he can convince you."

Bucky nods. That sounds acceptable. All of Stark's things are in the tower, after all. He won't want to see them destroyed. "Put on the jacket."

"Oh my god," Steve mutters, but he puts on the jacket.

*****

Steve keeps his mouth shut on the way to Tony's lab. He learned a long time ago that when Bucky gets like this, there's no talking him out of it. He just hopes Stark doesn't make things worse.

Tony's hunched over something on a workbench when they arrive. Pepper's been gone on business for a week, and odds are that he hasn't slept in that time. Either JARVIS doesn't announce them or Tony's lost in his head, because he jumps a mile when Bucky raps on the glass. He hops up and stalks toward the door, gesturing wildly and saying something Steve can't hear.

" ... trying to kill me?" Tony continues as the door opens. "What could you two possibly want at ... whatever time it is?"

Steve glances sidelong at Bucky, who's clearly not going to make this any easier. "Bucky's concerned about the storm," he says carefully. "I tried to explain that we're safe here, but - "

"Seriously?" Tony looks offended. "I already had to rebuild this place once. No way was I taking any chances. We're reinforced against earthquakes, tornados, accidental Hulk-outs. You want to see the blueprints?" He turns in a twitchy circle. "J, where'd I leave my tablet?"

Bucky clenches his fists, and Steve says hurriedly, "No, that's okay. What about losing power?"

Tony scoffs. "The tower is completely self-sufficient, and I'm the only one with access to the controls. There's a dozen safeguards preventing any kind of sabotage, and if my calculations are right - which they always are - there's enough power to keep the tower running until you two are 90 for real." 

Bucky still doesn't look appeased, and Tony grabs Steve's arm with a sigh. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" He drags Steve into the hallway without waiting for an answer. Bucky doesn't move, except to focus an intense stare on the two of them. "What's really going on here?"

Steve rubs his eyes. He'd only managed to fall asleep a half hour before Bucky barged in, after a string of sleepless nights. It's been a couple weeks since the hoarding incident, and he's spent them plagued with worry for his friend. "Bucky ... he's been really paranoid. I found all this stuff in his apartment, like he was preparing for the end of the world."

Tony rolls his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. You think I wouldn't notice when someone delivers 20 years worth of batteries to my tower?"

"Oh." Steve glances back at Bucky, taking in his limp hair and the dark circles under his eyes. "He got rid of most of it, and I guess I hoped he was better, but ... "

"Steve." Tony looks exasperated. "That man would cut off his other arm if you asked him to. That doesn't mean he's happy about it. He's scared and looking for anything in his life he can control, and you took away his coping mechanism."

Steve stares at him in shock. Had he really made things worse? And how does _Tony Stark_ understand Bucky better than he does?

"Don't look so surprised; it's insulting." Tony eyes him for a moment and continues more gently. "I'm not saying it's the healthiest thing in the world, but it wasn't really hurting anyone, either."

"Bucky said ... " Steve hesitates. Tony's been surprisingly decent about all this, but ... "He was doing it because he wanted to protect me. I don't get it. He's the one who's been through so much."

Tony gives him a  _how are you so stupid_ look. It's pretty much identical to Bucky's. "He's spent most of his life protecting you. Maybe it makes him feel normal. Even if he wasn't in love with you - "

"Wait, what?!" Steve takes an involuntary step back. "In love?"

"Oh my god." Tony laughs a little hysterically. "I thought maybe you were keeping it on the down-low or holding back for Bucky's sake, but you're actually oblivious, aren't you?" 

Steve peeks at Bucky again. "Do you really think ... ?" 

"I cannot believe - seriously, anyone else in the world would be better at this than me." Tony rubs at his forehead, like Steve's obliviousness hurt his brain. "Okay, one thing at a time." He marches back into the lab and points at Bucky, who's still waiting like a statue. "Come with me; there's something I want to show you."

He leads them into the elevator (Bucky eyes it distrustfully) and says, "Storage Two, JARVIS, and make it snappy. Look, Barnes, I have a lot of faith in my tech, but you don't get kidnapped and tortured and nearly killed by aliens without developing a bit of healthy paranoia."

The elevator opens to a floor Steve's never seen before, windowless and harshly lit, and Tony leads them to a thick metal door with no handle. He points to a small box to the left of the door. "Touch your palm to the scanner," he tells Bucky.

Bucky reaches slowly, like he's expecting a shock. The scanner lights up briefly, and Tony says, "JARVIS, add him to the list."

"List?" Bucky's voice is a harsh rasp, and Tony jumps.

"Huh, you can talk." At Steve's glare, Tony adds, "The list of people who can access the room. Touch the panel and tell J the code. Foxtrot Uniform Romeo Yankee Sierra Uniform Charlie Kilo Sierra."

There's a pause while Steve plays the code back in his head, and then, "Really, Tony?"

Bucky barks out a laugh, and Tony grins. "Don't be a party pooper, Cap. Come on, I don't have all night here."

The door opens soundlessly, and Tony leads the way into a cavernous room. "Wow," Steve murmurs. "This reminds me of that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark."

"Steve!" Tony gasps. "You made a pop culture reference; I'm so proud. Go on, have a look around."

There are boxes and shelves everywhere, and Steve hardly knows where to start. Bucky disappears almost immediately. 

"I've been collecting this stuff since Afghanistan," Tony says quietly. "I don't even know what I was preparing for, but like I said ... control." He flips a lid off a waist-high box, and Steve peers in to see it's packed with protein bars. "There's jugs of water along the far wall. Electronics are that way." Tony points to his left. "Emergency radios, a backup terminal where I can talk to JARVIS." He nudges Steve toward a row of tall cabinets. "Guns and ammo. Also some knives, although that's not really my thing."

Bucky pops up next to them suddenly, and Tony clutches his chest. "Shit! You've got to stop doing that."

"This is good," Bucky says gravely. "Needs more cold-weather gear, though."

"Right," Tony agrees. "I'll make a note. So, JARVIS can tell you where everything is, and if he's offline for some reason there's a hard copy of the inventory in that file cabinet by the door. Okay?"

Bucky glances around for a long moment, then nods to himself. "Okay. I think I'll sleep now." 

He turns and leaves the room, and Steve catches Tony's arm before he can follow. "Thank you," Steve says sincerely. "I think knowing this is here will really help."

Tony waves him off. "Don't mention it. Really. And for fuck's sake, tell the man you love him, or just go jump his bones, whatever. I can't take much more of this pining." 

Steve can feel himself blush, and he rolls his eyes when Tony's grin turns wicked. 'Right," Steve says. "I'll just ... go do that." 

He's halfway out the door when Tony yells, "Don't forget to use lots of lube!"

Steve trips over his own feet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think I'd write more of this, but back when I posted the first chapter a couple people commented that Tony would probably be the ultimate hoarder, and that idea has been bouncing around ever since. What finally made me write it was a storm that kept me up the other night, because thunder and lightning make me really jumpy. Like with most things lately, my brain went straight to "I wonder how Bucky would handle this." And now I guess I have to write a third chapter where they get together.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://brownc0at.tumblr.com/)


End file.
